The Jewish Association for Services for the Aged (JASA) recently started a new program, the Caregivers Support Network, which is designed for caregivers of elderly, frail relatives living in the same home.

This demonstration program was established to assist families of Plainview and Old Bethpage in meeting the ever-increasing demands of caring for their aging loved ones.

The program, with its office located at 1670 Old Country Road in Plainview, offers several services, free of charge, to help alleviate the stress that exists when caring for another person. The services that are currently available include case management, in-home assessments, short-term counseling and support groups and assistance with accessing entitlement programs. The program is funded by UJA-Federation of New York and, in part, by the Long Island Community Foundation.

The idea for this program comes from something known in the field of social services as the Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC). "Not everyone wants to retire and move to Florida," said Linda Greenbaum, Caregiver Support Network project director. "Some people want to stay in their home."

Greenbaum explains that about 30 years ago people living in tall high-rises in the city decided that although it was nice living there, they needed other social services. "They worked with the city and with social service agencies like JASA to put social services in place within their housing complexes," said Greenbaum. "There were smaller communities defined within the larger communities in New York City." There are presently 28 identified NORCs in New York City alone and they have social programs, advocacy groups and speakers.

"The Caregiver Support Network is based on the NORC model," said Greenbaum. "The difference is that NORCs are vertical and I call this a horizontal NORC because we are spread out rather than condensed and go up. We want to take the NORC model and apply it to suburbia."

This program is considered a pilot program as they try and bring services back to the community level. Plainview and Old Bethpage were selected because they are communities where agencies already exist that could work together. "We have the hospital, the Mid-Island Y Jewish Community Center, the synagogues, the churches, the schools, the library and the private sector," said Greenbaum.

The Caregiver Support Network has a cooperative working relationship with existing local community organizations and agencies. A nurse from the North Shore LIJ Health System will be available to provide health education and training to caregivers about the special needs of patients on a one-to-one basis in the privacy of their homes. The volunteer coordinator, a staff member of Plainview's Mid-Island Y JCC, will recruit, train and place volunteers from the community in homes and help with daily chores and errands, such as driving to medical appointments and friendly visiting.

Greenbaum also travels to local businesses to try and get support. "If we have 10 people living in a 3-block area, maybe we can work out something with a taxi service to reduce the cost to bring people places," she said. "Transportation is one of the biggest needs for people who can't drive anymore because we do not have adequate public transportation."

The program staff will use an innovative approach of arranging for shared services with local businesses to provide services such as lawn care, snow removal, small home repairs, private transportation and home health care at reduced costs to clients of the program.

According to Greenbaum, another important component of the program is to have the community help their neighbors. "It is our hope to mobilize the Plainview-Old Bethpage community to support their over-burdened, overwhelmed and at many times, isolated neighbors," she said. "We will be contacting members of social groups, civic and religious organizations, youth groups and service clubs and individual families to assist the older members of our community. Enabling people to remain in their homes for as long as possible is the primary mission of JASA. This is especially true with the increasing costs of health care and long-term care. People feel better and more secure when they are in their own surroundings."

Greenbaum also stated that many times caregivers are also addressing their own health needs. "Studies have shown that when caregivers are preoccupied with caring for their loved one, they often neglect their own health and well being and, as a result, become more ill themselves," she said. "It is our hope that by helping caregivers in their time of need, we can help them preserve their health and ultimately prevent additional hospitalizations and costly long-term care placements."

Although the program should be in full swing within the next month, after the volunteer coordinator and a health educator are in place, some services are in place now. "As we learn what the needs of the community are, we can finish," said Greenbaum. "As we hear from clients what their needs are, then we will try and get those in place to help them." This will help the program's mission of bringing services to the people and bringing the community together to help one another.

For more information, or to volunteer, please call the Caregiver Support Network at 249-6000.